J13's WITB: Update- FUJIKURA AXIOM

[OsnolaKinnard]

1 hour ago, J13 said:

 

Yeah you should book a fitting at HQ, shoot me a pm if you want help with that 😉

 

 

"I dont need" doesn't exist in the golfwrx community hahahaah

 

PM sent

[J13]

Update: Putter review is just about complete and will be posted next week.  It's longer than my usual review and took some time so I hope you all enjoy!

 

On a side note: I hit the Callaway Rogue Max LS outside and it's a great offering.  Sound and feel is improved from the Epic Speed LS and I like the matte finish a lot.  Shape is the same to my eye as the Speed LS as well.  Also hearing good things in regards to the Stealth and Cobra driver so I look forward to hitting everything over the next few months.

Edited January 7, 2022 by J13

[J13]

Edel EAS 4.0 Putter review:

 

First things first, the fitting process. The review is a little longer than normal due to how much goes into an Edel putter fitting but I did my best to trim it as much as possible.

 

Fitting:

Like my fitting for the SMS wedges, the EAS putter fitting took place at Edel HQ. And since I was learning the process myself at the time, I went through the fitting with multiple people at studio so I could better absorb the info.  Keep in mind up until this point I had only been through SAM putt lab fittings, so this was all new to me.   

 

Without going deep down the rabbit hole, the Edel fitting system focuses on 1 simple idea and that’s to match perception to reality in terms of both aim and speed. 

Putter AIM:

I, like many, assumed I could aim my current putter.  I was using a flow neck blade that I liked the look of and played for the past 6 years.  So when it came to testing my aim, I was confident I was in good shape.  Well fast forward a few minutes and the laser showed me that even though I thought I was aiming dead center of the hole, I was actually 2” left of the left edge. This both terrified and excited me.

 

David Edel (who did one of my fittings) explained this was very common regardless of hcp level (including pga tour winners he’s fit) and how overall putter shape effects our perception of aim.  It was a lot to take in, but my aim test confirmed everything he said.  I won’t dive too much deeper than that otherwise this review could turn into 3 pages.  Anyway, once he saw my aim, he knew what direction to go so we tried a few other shapes ultimately zeroing in on the EAS 4.0.  When I did the laser test it was shocking at how much better my aim was by only changing putter shape.  My aim moved from 2” left of the hole to now inside right edge!

 

Now that we found the shape that worked best for me, the alignment lines were next.  If shape is the big mover of aim, think of alignment lines of being more about refinement of aim.  Like shape, alignment lines can move aim both left and right.  Fast forward to the end of the alignment portion and I ended up into a combination that 1. I would have never picked out for myself, and 2. I would have never been able to find off the shelf.  You can see in the pics what I ended up with.  This combination ultimately moved my aim from inside right edge to inside right center.  At this point I wanted to take the putter and immediately get on a golf course to shatter whatever course record existed (#*&#&*#&*#&*#*&).  But he wasn’t done yet.

 

Hosel:

Edel has 3 different hosels to fit players, forward offset (think double bend), No offset, and Back set.  Each hosel can be used to move aim and loft which is really important to getting a good roll on the ball as well as improve path.  Again, fast forward to the end and I fit into the back set hosel at 72* lie angle.  Hosel is another refiner of aim and now my aim was DEAD CENTER of CENTER and it brought my loft at address down which immediately told him my hands were in a better position.  At this point in my mind I was now the odds on favorite to win the 2022 Masters 🤣

 

 

Putter Speed:

 

With my aim fixed it was time to address speed control.  As we all know, aim doesn’t do you much good if you don’t have the speed to match.  He dropped 1 ball and had me hit to a string about 10ft away.  I asked why not a cup and he said because the focus is solely on speed not making a putt. I also asked why I only get 1 ball/try to which he replied, “how many putts do you get on the golf course?”  Touché. David went onto say that most people go to a golf shop and grab a putter off the wall and roll putt after putt.  He said, “anyone can grab any putter and eventually figure out speed after hitting 15 or so putts but when it doesn’t translate to the course, they can’t figure out why”.  I had to admit I did this on many lunch break visits to the local golf galaxy (*#*#*%*%*$) Guilty! 

 

I quickly learned that static weight matters but not nearly as much as where the weight is in the club.  It was amazing how different the putter felt when he shifted weight up and down. The static weight remained the same, but the putter felt completely different. Edel putters have 4 distinct area’s where weight can be manipulated, the sole weight, moveable weight inside the shaft, counter weight, and grip weight.

 

We started with my putter from 10ft to which I rolled the ball a 3ft past the target/string line.  Once he saw that he then started to put weights in the EAS 4.0 as a starting point.  With each putt he adjusted things(remember 1 putt only).  After about 10 min he dialed the weight in to where I was rolling the ball right on the string without hesitating.  Once he thought I was dialed in he gave me 3 more putts and sure enough the speed was consistent every time and just past the string. 

 

The overall weight of the putter was very different from my current setup.  It was much heavier, statically speaking, but the flow of the putter was so much easier to swing.  We ended up with a 50g weight 3” down inside the shaft and a 105g grip with 10g sole weight (headweight 350g).  Feel is subjective so the best way I can describe it was it allowed my brain to go on auto pilot and the putter now felt balanced in my hands. 

 

 

Quick Rundown

 

Looks – The 4.0 is clean and the perfect size for the style of head. Look is very premium, can’t say enough about it. Obviously look is subject but it’s legit. 

Feel- quality contact has a soft but responsive feel.  Feel is similar to a Scotty Mallet or similar. If you strike one closer to toe it can have a little “ting” to it due to the design and hollowed out toe section to create the toe up balance.  I don’t hit many putts here but just something to note.

Dispersion – 94% of the direction the ball rolls is based on aim. My aim is now DIALED and more importantly I TRUST IT.

Speed – speed is dialed and after multiple rounds I can easily say it’s the most balanced putter I’ve ever owned.  So much so that multiple playing partners have made comments and now want me to fit them.  I told them all I’m happy to in the spring but first I’m gonna take some of their money for a few months 😎

 

In Conclusion:

After 10 rounds with this putter I’ve tied my career low round of 65 once and tied my career low 9 hole score of -5 (31) 2 times.  I don’t keep stats so my apologies, but I can say without a doubt I have improved in all area’s of putting.  The one thing I’m still working on is whether or not to use the line on the ball. I usually use the line but now that aim is fixed, I actually find I putt better without it for anything outside of 5-6ft. From inside that range its almost like a safety blanket. In conclusion, I don’t expect to make every putt but it’s nice to know I’ve eliminated as many variables as possible to allow me to be a more consistent putter.  There’s a good podcast with David Edel and Heath Slocum discussing his fittings on the Edel podcast, worth giving a listen to.

[m3fuz]

I have the EAS in my Edel cart along with two of his wedges.  I gotta stop checking out this thread!  

[Rosco1216]

@J13 me next!

[coreyl]

The putter looks really good bro. It sounds to me though that 99% of the benefit is in the fitting, and it sounds like you had a REALLY good fitting. I can't see just blindly ordering one off the website without being fit after what you wrote. I looked and the closest fitter to me is a Golftec about 2.5 hours away...do you have any insight on the "BIG BOX" fitters vs. the in-house company fitting you received?

[J13]

11 hours ago, m3fuz said:

I have the EAS in my Edel cart along with two of his wedges.  I gotta stop checking out this thread!  

 

If you're on golfwrx then you know it's impossible to not look at shiny toys 😉  I already have my eye on several drivers for 2022 to test and Im hitting my current setup great.  It's a sickness 🤣

 

6 hours ago, Rosco1216 said:

@J13 me next!

 

Yes sir, you just let me know when your in town brotha.

[J13]

56 minutes ago, coreyl said:

The putter looks really good bro. It sounds to me though that 99% of the benefit is in the fitting, and it sounds like you had a REALLY good fitting. I can't see just blindly ordering one off the website without being fit after what you wrote. I looked and the closest fitter to me is a Golftec about 2.5 hours away...do you have any insight on the "BIG BOX" fitters vs. the in-house company fitting you received?

 

Great question. Getting fit is optimal for every club in the bag, putter included.  We would love everyone to be fit into the club, just like any manufacturer, but we also realize that not every player wants to do that. We have a lot of people order off the website or grab one off the shelves in a shop and get weight kits to fit themselves and obviously that's their prerogative.  In a nutshell, it's not our job to tell people what to do or how to do it.   We just supply the good stuff and make our recommendations and hope people enjoy the experience and products 😎

 

Golftec - They have our full fitting carts and would be a great place to get fit.  In house fittings are going to be great for obvious reasons but GolfTec has a very robust training program for all locations (honestly impressive how they go about it) so you would be in good hands.  Feel free to pm me as well as we are constantly adding more local and regional shops that might be more convenient to you. 

[J13]

Small update: Thanks for all the questions via pm, i'll share the answers for everyone's knowledge

 

1. Grip - I went with standard round grip to give it a try.  Tested with it (makes sense with the system) so said why not.  Edel also has stock paddle grips and obviously other options like any oem.

2. Fitting takes about 45 min.  Depending on the fitter it could take a little longer or shorter.

3. EAS putters are not being replaced anytime soon but other options might pop up in the future 😉

[Beastmode Broker]

DANG son!

[KingTitus]

On 12/3/2021 at 12:38 PM, J13 said:

Edel SMS Wedge review:

As always, I’ll try to keep this short and sweet but before I get into the wedges performance I want to touch on the features and how I was fit. It’s important and will help explain some of the things I’m going to say.

 

 

 

Fitting:

My fitting took place at Edel HQ in Austin, TX. David (Edel) walked me through the concept of the swing match weighting system and explained the different grinds. To be honest I didn’t see how the weights could do much but as they say proof was in the pudding. To start I hit the 54* head in all 4 grinds. It only took about 3-4 shots a piece to figure out which grind worked best for me based on turf interaction. Once that was sorted out, I then hit 5 balls a piece with the heavy weight in each of the 3 locations (heel, center, toe). To say there was a difference would be an understatement.

 

The weight in the toe was not optimal, not even close. In fact, I shanked one and was like “please take this away from me now”. The weight in the center (which I thought would be best) was solid and very similar to what I hit with my current wedges. He then put the weight in the heel, and it was like someone put me on autopilot. My dispersion improved by around 20% and my ball speed jumped by 2mph. This was not something I expected to see. He explained that because of the way I swing the club I benefit from the weight in the heel and the steering force it creates. And the jump in ball speed was just better efficiency and hitting the ball with a squarer face basically compressing the ball better.

 

The last step was getting fit into a shaft.  Edel wedge fitting carts come with not only the heads, weights, and grinds but also 15 different shafts that you can plug in to get numbers.  I’ve been through lots of fittings in my life and this was the first time I got to test wedge shafts instead of whatever stock shaft the company uses. Edel has a proprietary connection system that when you screw the head on it just looks like a normal wedge (see picture below with black background) because it connects where the natural break is in the ferrule. Anyway Edel doesn’t currently carry the Mitsu MMT’s (something I’m trying to change!) so I settled on the Modus 125 which is a great shaft for me and one I’ve played and been fit into.  With that said I tried them for a few rounds but missed the feel of my MMT’s so off to the shop I went and did a swap.

 

At this point I was thrilled about the improvement in my wedge numbers and the fact that I was actually on the clock getting paid to be fit into wedges 😎 I told ya, working in golf is pretty sweet 😁

 

Looks – Love the look. There is a progression with face height from the 48* to the 60* so it blends from irons to wedges.  The previous Edel wedges had an unusual shape to me, so I was pleasantly surprised with the new design. 

Feel- The wedges are Forged Japanese 1025 carbon steel so yeah, they feel great.  The lower lofts you can really feel the difference in forged vs cast but once I get above 54* I don’t feel much of a difference. Some people might but I’m just being honest, I don’t.

Dispersion – With the heavy weight in the heel my dispersion improved quite a bit and I wasn’t missing shots to the right which I tended to do especially on ¾ shots.

Spin- These wedges SPIN. I was getting around 300-400rpm’s more spin that my current wedges. The grooves are extended toward the toe so any shots where you open the face you will benefit.  I also love that my 60* wedge looks like a normal wedge (no high toe) and I have the extended grooves.

Trajectory – Trajectory between weight locations was wild for me. In the toe I was hitting a lowish right shot, in the center it was mid/high trajectory and in the heel, it was a midflight, high spin shot that was perfect. I’m still getting used to the flight but it’s so much better in the wind than what I’m used to.

 

My setup

Edel SMS 50* V grind, heavy weight heel  / Mitsu MMT 125TX

Edel SMS 54* T grind, heavy weight heel  / Mitsu MMT 125TX

Edel SMS 60* T grind, heavy weight heel  / Mitsu MMT 125TX

 

 

 

 

 

Wow are these things gorgeous. I have yet to hit Edel wedges but based on what I've heard, you have yourself some real winners! Those sprinkles look tasty!

[J13]

7 hours ago, Beastmode Broker said:

DANG son!

Yeah buddy!

 

6 hours ago, GMcKelvie said:

 

Wow are these things gorgeous. I have yet to hit Edel wedges but based on what I've heard, you have yourself some real winners! Those sprinkles look tasty!

 

Edel wedges are forged and cnc milled for grinds.  They feel amazing not to mention the performance when you get the weight in the right location (similar to an adjustable driver). 

[Tupperwolf]

I had a great fitting for my Edel 4.0 and I'll never sell it because I know it was fit for me, but man you are lucky to have been fit by David himself.  I'd be starry eyed, I've watched so many of his videos and feel like the guy is a genius, or at least a genius at absorbing information and spreading it to people like us.  I've got a LAB in the bag for now because I've always wanted to give it a good try but I fully believe that just getting fit for an Edel can teach you so much about what works and what doesn't in a putter.

[J13]

9 hours ago, Tupperwolf said:

I had a great fitting for my Edel 4.0 and I'll never sell it because I know it was fit for me, but man you are lucky to have been fit by David himself.  I'd be starry eyed, I've watched so many of his videos and feel like the guy is a genius, or at least a genius at absorbing information and spreading it to people like us.  I've got a LAB in the bag for now because I've always wanted to give it a good try but I fully believe that just getting fit for an Edel can teach you so much about what works and what doesn't in a putter.

 

Awesome and I LOVE my EAS 4.0.  I actually fit a player today in the same head and got his aim right in the center of the hole which was amazing considering his aim started 8" right of the hole and his loft at address was like 7*. The whole fitting blew his mind which I always puts a smile on my face because I was the same way when I went through it with David.  

 

David is a character and has jokes for days but when it comes to club design, biomechanics, and putting instruction he's Rain Man.  Honestly, half the time I speak with him I have to stop him and remind him that I'm not a mechanical engineer haha.  

[Tupperwolf]

David's information that he passes in his writings in his videos has changed my game. Or at least my understanding of the game if it hasn't actually shaved any strokes yet. From putting to the full swing and I understand a lot more about what my body is built to do, that has to do with his teachings on biomechanics from Mike Adams and the bioswing dynamics stuff. I wouldn't have known anything about that if it wasn't for David Edel. Would love to go see him sometime and pick his brain, maybe someday I'll have him fit me for some wedges and then I can really get a blast of knowledge. How are the wedges doing for you? So far? I got these Edison wedges for a deal on eBay and I absolutely love them, I've been looking at the Edel wedges since they first came out, but never quite pulled the trigger despite trying several other wedges this past golf year.

[J13]

12 hours ago, Tupperwolf said:

David's information that he passes in his writings in his videos has changed my game. Or at least my understanding of the game if it hasn't actually shaved any strokes yet. From putting to the full swing and I understand a lot more about what my body is built to do, that has to do with his teachings on biomechanics from Mike Adams and the bioswing dynamics stuff. I wouldn't have known anything about that if it wasn't for David Edel. Would love to go see him sometime and pick his brain, maybe someday I'll have him fit me for some wedges and then I can really get a blast of knowledge. How are the wedges doing for you? So far? I got these Edison wedges for a deal on eBay and I absolutely love them, I've been looking at the Edel wedges since they first came out, but never quite pulled the trigger despite trying several other wedges this past golf year.

 

He certainly knows his stuff and he does a ton with Mike Adams.  Those guys can talk swing mechanics all day!   Love the wedges and really getting comfortable with the grinds now that I have some time under my belt with them.  Winter is actually proving to be a great time to test wedges as the ground goes back and forth from being super soft and mushy to firm and frozen.  Great way to test grinds oddly enough.

[J13]

2022 Driver testing has begun 😎

 

First up: Taylormade Stealth Plus 9* w/ Fuji Ventus Black 7X

 

 

[FAbb]

Your driver test is one of my favorite reads on WRX, every year. There’s no substitute for on course testing, with some juice in the game. 

[Deuce78]

Nice.  I just bought one just in case it makes the bag myself...if it's like anything these will be sold out soon! I debated 8.0 std or 9.0 lower and went 8.0 for the flatter lie...looking forward to your review.

[J13]

Driver testing is always fun, also have a few new shafts on the way and a new addition to the bag.  I have state matches starting up in a few months so I have to get all this sorted out!

[nitram]

Interested to see how it does against your OLD SLDR 430 . . .

[freeze16172002]

Glad you are testing the Taylormade Stealth Plus. Distance, Feel and Durabilty are what I am wondering

[J13]

Stealth Plus solo testing went well.  Rundown coming tomorrow or Friday !

[J13]

Quick rundown of my thoughts with the TM Stealth - Keep in mind I'm testing a few things right now indoors and outdoors.  The 2 finalists will battle on course for the top spot but for now I will do very short and sweet rundowns then dive deeper in the final battle.

 

TM Stealth Plus w/ Fuji Ventus Black 7X 44.5"

 

Looks - Looks good, I think I like the white on top better but overall the red face disappears after a few holes.

Feel - Feels solid, not loud by any means.  It's not the Tsi3 sound and feel but it's solid and can't imagine anyone would want to hotmelt for acoustics alone.

Distance - Not going to lie I hit some missiles with this thing.  Center strikes go a mile, off-center strikes are just ok for me, especially heel shots.

Spin - Low 2000's, no spin issues at all.  If you are someone that needs more spin this isn't the stick for you.

Dispersion - Dispersion was solid, better than my sldr 430 but lets be honest that's a low bar as misses with the 430 are PUNISHING lol.

Consistency - If I had to pick a downside i would say it's this.  I hit some absolute piss missiles but I also hit some that weren't that far off center and I lost quite a bit of distance.  

 

 

Overall TM will sell a lot of these and i won't be surprised if this makes it to the finals.  It's MUCH better than the SIM2 and definitely going to be a contender for me.  It reminds me a lot more of the SIM than SIM2 which is a good thing as I felt the SIM2 was a big step back for TM.  

 

 

Stay tuned....

Edited February 12, 2022 by J13

[bcflyguy1]

6 hours ago, J13 said:

Distance - Not going to lie I hit some missiles with this thing.  Center strikes go a mile, off-center strikes are just ok for me, especially heel shots.

Consistency - If I had to pick a downside i would say it's this.  I hit some absolute piss missiles but I also hit some that weren't that far off center and I lost quite a bit of distance.  

 

Your findings are consistent with the consensus of every other review I’ve found on Stealth. Has its obvious merits, but…

[J_Tizzle]

17 hours ago, J13 said:

Quick rundown of my thoughts with the TM Stealth - Keep in mind I'm testing a few things right now indoors and outdoors.  The 2 finalists will battle on course for the top spot but for now I will do very short and sweet rundowns then dive deeper in the final battle.

 

TM Stealth Plus w/ Fuji Ventus Black 7X 44.5"

 

Looks - Looks good, I think I like the white on top better but overall the red face disappears after a few holes.

Feel - Feels solid, not loud by any means.  It's not the Tsi3 sound and feel but it's solid and can't imagine anyone would want to hotmelt for acoustics alone.

Distance - Not going to lie I hit some missiles with this thing.  Center strikes go a mile, off-center strikes are just ok for me, especially heel shots.

Spin - Low 2000's, no spin issues at all.  If you are someone that needs help in this department, this isn't the stick for you.

Dispersion - Dispersion was solid, better than my sldr 430 but lets be honest that's a low bar as misses with the 430 are PUNISHING lol.

Consistency - If I had to pick a downside i would say it's this.  I hit some absolute piss missiles but I also hit some that weren't that far off center and I lost quite a bit of distance.  

 

 

Overall TM will sell a lot of these and i won't be surprised if this makes it to the finals.  It's MUCH better than the SIM2 and definitely going to be a contender for me.  It reminds me a lot more of the SIM than SIM2 which is a good thing as I felt the SIM2 was a big step back for TM.  

 

 

Stay tuned....

 

I just got fit for the Stealth vs the SIM2 and G425 LST and the Stealth numbers were crazy better, the Stealth (with a Speeder NX) was a clear cut above the other two.  Wouldn't be surprised if it makes in the bag for ya, but of course I always love your driver testing write ups.  Interested to see what you end up thinking of the Cobras.

[J13]

17 hours ago, bcflyguy1 said:

Your findings are consistent with the consensus of every other review I’ve found on Stealth. Has its obvious merits, but…

 

Exactly

 

7 hours ago, J_Tizzle said:

 

I just got fit for the Stealth vs the SIM2 and G425 LST and the Stealth numbers were crazy better, the Stealth (with a Speeder NX) was a clear cut above the other two.  Wouldn't be surprised if it makes in the bag for ya, but of course I always love your driver testing write ups.  Interested to see what you end up thinking of the Cobras.

 

Stealth is a good driver for sure.  It will find it's way into a lot of bags this year, possibly mine.  Cobra did a GREAT job this year and it's definitely high up there.

[J13]

Next up 

 

 

 

[FAbb]

I just got the TD LS this week. I did a fitting at 2nd Swing back in January. I played it on Thursday. So far, so good. It’s probably the quietest driver I’ve hit. 

[dcmidnight]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:23 PM, J13 said:

Overall TM will sell a lot of these and i won't be surprised if this makes it to the finals.  It's MUCH better than the SIM2 and definitely going to be a contender for me.  It reminds me a lot more of the SIM than SIM2 which is a good thing as I felt the SIM2 was a big step back for TM.  

 

Funny, I tried a few different SIM2 setups and thought they were awful compared to the OG - glad I'm not the only one. Just was a huge step back IMO.

 

I had the Stealth+ hotmelted to match the weight of my SIM so I could test them like-to-like as best as possible. So far I've seen results very similar to your writeup, actually like the feel a great deal although I know thats a very personal category. Have a few hours of trackman time scheduled for Thursday so it will be the first time I can actually put some numbers to it.